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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23394976">and slowly they break apart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pale_Blue/pseuds/Pale_Blue'>Pale_Blue</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Fellowship of the Ring, Kind of dark, Mentions of Violence, Mirkwood, Sword Training, mirkwood is kinda like sparta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 16:27:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23394976</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pale_Blue/pseuds/Pale_Blue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the simple idea to give the hobbits a basic training in how to use swords leads to disagreements, the fellowship learn some things about Legolas's homeland that shock and horrify them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>76</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>and slowly they break apart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="MsoNormal">The idea of showing the hobbits how to correctly use a sword had been something that been present since the Fellowship had first left Rivendell. With the exception of Frodo, none of them had ever so much as held a sword, let alone actually used one. And on a quest as dangerous as theirs, it was of importance that every member of the Fellowship was capable of holding their own in a fight should it come down to it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But actually carrying out some training sessions had proven difficult. It had been agreed that Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli and Boromir would work with the hobbits on some basic elements necessary to use a sword in an effective manner. Unfortunately, the weather had been against them in recent days and most nights had been spent in various caves as the rain poured incessantly outside. In these evenings spent huddled together around a blazing fire, the hobbits had learned more about their travelling companions, and their homelands. They had heard of the White City, and of the way the stone the city was built from gleamed when the sun hit it until it seemed as though the whole city was glowing. They had heard of the deep places of the earth and the many precious gems that could be found there in the cavernous depths. They had heard of a childhood in Rivendell and a life of moving around, never staying in one place for longer than a week. They had heard of a kingdom at war against a rapidly encroaching darkness and of the beauty that had once been where there was now only shadow.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And the others heard tales of the Shire. They heard many stories of celebrations that lasted days, of waking up and opening the window to sunshine and the singing of birds. They watched the way the face of Sam seemed to brighten when he spoke of Rosie, heard the laughter of Merry and Pippin when they told of one of their many attempts to steal vegetables from the fields surrounding the Shire. They could hear the slight sadness in Frodo’s voice when he spoke of Bilbo, and how much he missed him.</p>
<p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">And they all felt a sense of closeness beginning to develop between what only weeks ago had been strangers.</p>
<hr/></div><p class="MsoNormal">But finally, a few days later, Gandalf permitted them to stop earlier by a rocky outcrop. There was space enough for all the sleep comfortably and, more importantly, space enough to train. A few scraggly trees clung grimly to life on the rocks, providing somewhere to hang the packs and tie Bill the pony.</p><p class="MsoNormal">After the packs had been shed and cloaks removed, all the company bar Gandalf headed to the open space before the rocks. Gandalf busied himself taking out his pipe and settling back as comfortably as he could against one the large rocks. He was glad for the opportunity to rest his feet somewhat, the walk had been long and he had begun to privately wish that they had brought more horses. Watching the other members of the Fellowship, he was glad some friendship had begun to arise between them. He had been concerned at first by the distance held by both Boromir and Legolas from their companions. Thankfully the two had slowly begun to trust their companions and each other, although he noted that both still seemed wary.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aragorn, as it transpired, was the most patient teacher. He was willing to listen to all and any questions Pippin could conjure up, and treated each as being worth consideration. Boromir had suggested first teaching the four hobbits how to correctly hold a blade. This, as it turned out, had been wise, as even the simple lesson prompted many questions from Pippin in particular. As the youngest of the group he had a particularly short attention span and was easily distracted.</p><p class="MsoNormal">However, once they reached the stage of actually practicing the different attacks and blocks on one another, he soon became more focused. They were split into pairs, with each hobbit working with one of the more experienced warriors of the group.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Boromir had elected to work with Merry, Aragorn with Pippen, Frodo with Gimli and Sam with Legolas.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Merry was very keen to learn as much as possible.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Am I holding it right?’ he asked Boromir for the third time in the space of five minutes, receiving only a gruff nod in return.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘It is more important that you learn to block any attacks,’ the man said, trying to maintain some semblance of patience. ‘Being able to defend yourself is more important, particularly if you have little knowledge of the blade ‘.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Merry nodded and managed to resist the urge to make sure he was still holding his small sword correctly.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Aragorn,’ Boromir called suddenly.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The other man quickly joined them and looked expectantly at Boromir.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘I need to demonstrate how to block,’ he said. ‘Would you be able to attack?’</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aragorn nodded and moved into position opposite Boromir.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Watch closely, Merry,’ Aragorn reminded the hobbit, who had been watching Gimli demonstrate a swinging motion on one of the wizened trees. He immediately focused back on the two men in front of him.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Now I will take up a blocking position, like this,’ explained Boromir while demonstrating the action. ‘If I keep my blade here, when Aragorn goes to strike his sword will go no further. But you must keep your arm strong, particularly if your opponent is bigger than you are.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">Merry nodded.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aragorn suddenly raised his sword and went to strike Boromir, who promptly blocked the blow. The sound of metal on metal seemed to echo throughout the plain and hang in the afternoon air for longer than seemed possible. Both immediately stepped back from one another and lowered their weapons.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Would you like to see it again?’ Aragorn asked gently, noticing that Merry seemed suddenly unsure. The hobbit gave a grateful nod, and the two men repeated the previous action.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘What do I do after I block?’ Merry asked curiously.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘We will cover that a little later,’ replied Boromir. ‘For now it is important that you focus on getting this right.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">He helped Merry to hold his sword in position correctly and then went to strike against it with only a fraction of the strength he was capable of, not wanting to accidently injure the much shorter hobbit. Merry successfully blocked the blow, to the surprise of both himself and Boromir. The other hobbits, who had paused to watch, all broke into applause and cheering. Merry had a massive grin on his face, seeming completely unable to believe that he had been able to carry out what to him seemed to be a rather complicated manoeuvre.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But one member of the company was not smiling.</p><p class="MsoNormal">He watched with an increasingly frustrated and confused expression as Boromir and Merry practiced the manoeuvre again and again, with Boromir continuing to use very little strength and allowing Merry to successfully block over and over. The hobbit was gaining confidence, and even seemed to be enjoying himself.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Eventually he could no longer stand it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Legolas walked rapidly over to Merry and Boromir, the expression of anger never once leaving his fair features.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Why do you stop?’ he asked Boromir. His voice was soft, and unless one listened carefully it was impossible to detect any emotion in it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘What do you mean?’ Boromir asked, lowering his sword and giving the elf his full attention</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘You have shown him what he must do to block an attack,’ the elf answered, in the same soft tone. ‘Why must you repeat it with him over and over, when he understands the principle? He will not learn how to properly defend himself if you practice with him in this way’.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Boromir stared at the elf. He had not spent much time with elves before joining the Fellowship and had found Legolas to be somewhat perplexing.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘We are practicing,’ he answered, speaking slowly and clearly in the way one does with a child. ‘There is no sense in overwhelming the little ones with too many things at once.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">Legolas stared back at the man.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘But this does not make sense,’ he stated, a little more loudly.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aragorn was now watching the exchange with interest and concern, as were the others. Even Gandalf, sitting a few metres away, had lowered his pipe and sat up.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘I do not understand what it is you are trying to say,’ Boromir said through gritted teeth. ‘I have no time for hidden meanings. Say what the problem is clearly or do not say anything at all.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">Merry looked back and forth between the man and the elf, half convinced they were about to pull swords on one another. All previous camaraderie between them seemed to be melting away further with every word.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘The manner in which you are training Merry does not prepare him for a conflict,’ the elf explained, never taking his suddenly very cold gaze from Boromir’s face. ‘An enemy will not pause. Nor will they use anything less than their full strength. Your teaching is but a performance, fit only for a theatrical piece.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">A silence had fallen over the small group. Boromir had an incredulous expression on his face. He whipped around to face Aragorn.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Is he suggesting what I think he is?!’ he half asked, half shouted while pointing at Legolas with his sword. The elf in question had folded his arms over his slender chest in a defensive manner.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aragorn shook his head.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Legolas,’ he said, allowing a hard edge to crawl into his tone. ‘Legolas, I refuse to allow the same methods used in Mirkwood to be used here. The hobbits do not deserve it.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘So they deserve to be killed by the first Orc to raise a sword to them?’ Legolas shot back.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘That is not what I am saying, my friend, and you know that as well,’ Aragorn replied calmly. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Legolas did not have a chance to respond because Gandalf was suddenly among the three arguing warriors with his staff raised in a way that suggested that the next person to speak would be turned into something decidedly unnatural.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Silence, all of you!’ he exclaimed. ‘I will not have you all squabbling like children!’</p><p class="MsoNormal">Boromir seemed unable to contain himself any longer.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Legolas is of the mind that we should be attacking the hobbits in the same way we would a foe,’ he shouted, face flushed with rage and gesturing wildly with his sword in the general direction of the elf. ‘He would have us hurt them so that they may understand how a real fight would be! I do not now what barbaric methods are employed in his homeland, but if he uses them to train the little folk I will be forced to act!’</p><p class="MsoNormal">He was shaking with rage by this point. Legolas, by contrast, was standing perfectly still and seemed not to have heard the threat directed at him by the man.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Gandalf looked suddenly saddened. He sighed, then turned to the elf.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Legolas, I think it would be best if you were to explain the training methods of Mirkwood and why things are the way they are,’ he said, his voice seeming almost a whisper after the emotion laden exclamation of Boromir.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Legolas did not make eye contact with any of the Fellowship. Then he nodded and seemed to consider his words carefully before speaking them into the mild air of the afternoon.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Mirkwood had long been at war,’ he began, keeping his eyes fixed on a small stone near his left foot. ‘Many lives have been lost and every day our warriors fight for their own survival and for the survival of my people. We are not enough to fully defend our lands and stepping outside of the palace walls is dangerous at best.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">He paused, seeming uncharacteristically sure of how to proceed.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘We begin training young. Much younger than in Lothlorien or Rivendell. And our training is hard, because it has to be. Orcs do not hesitate to kill young elflings. Spiders do not think twice before poisoning them. We have to be ready to fight. Always. And when we train, we do not do so in a way which is merely a performance. When we duel, we duel until our opponent is unable to continue. There is no yielding. The fight stops only when the opponent loses consciousness. These are the rules by which we learn. An enemy will not pause while you pick up your dropped weapon, nor will they use anything less than their full strength. An enemy will not take pity on your lack of ability or strength. They will kill you. And they will not hesitate to do so. We learn this early and believe me when I say that one does not repeat mistakes when in training in Mirkwood.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">He turned to Boromir, face devoid of expression and tone cold, ignoring the horrified expressions on the faces of the hobbits.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘You call our methods barbaric. The thought of them disgusts you, I see this clearly on your face. But in war sacrifices must be made. And my people have been forced to sacrifice childhood innocence.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">The silence which followed this explanation felt heavy, blanketing the whole fellowship like snow. Boromir shifted his feet. Aragorn, who had been aware of the manner in which Mirkwood trained its people, said nothing but fixed the elf with an unreadable expression. Sam was gazing at Legolas with an expression of horror. He was unable to reconcile the fair creature before him with the descriptions of such brutality which he had just heard.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘And you were trained in such a manner?’ Gimli asked. He has been uncharacteristically silent up to this point, and was inclined to not believe what the elf had just said.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Legolas nodded.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘And even having been through this yourself you still feel this is the best way to train the halflings?!’ Boromir shouted. He was unable to believe what he was hearing.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Legolas raised his head and jutted his chin forward. ‘I stand by what my training has taught me. It is the most effective way to ensure that that what is learned it taken seriously. It is not a game, using a sword. Weapons are not toys. The hobbits would do well to learn this.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">At this Gandalf too joined the debate.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘We will not be handling the training of the hobbits in the same way as your people do,’ he said heavily, keeping his eyes focused on Legolas. ‘And that is the end of it.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">Then he spoke directly to Legolas.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘You will no longer be helping with the training of the hobbits.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">At this Legolas whipped round to face the wizard fully and made to say something, possibly to protest the decision, but seemed to think better of it. Instead he picked up his sword from the ground and walked away from the group without a word.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Gandalf watched him go with a concerned and thoughtful expression on his lined face. He had known Legolas when he was but an elfling. He had witnessed the brutality of the training methods of Mirkwood first hand. The sight of Legolas after one of his victories, blood pouring from his broken nose, lips and teeth stained red with the blood from his split lip and both eyes swollen to the point where he could hardly open them, still haunted him to this day. He had watched Legolas wipe the blood from his face with a small hand and limp past the unmoving body of his opponent to return to stand back in line and had not known what to do. Elves were not brutal by nature, nor did they enjoy hurting one another or indeed any living thing. But young Legolas had smiled a wide and bloody smile when praised by one of the older warriors. It was true that the Mirkwood elves were far more dangerous than their kin in Rivendell or Lothlorien. They beat any sense of empathy out of one another early on.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The mood of the Fellowship was no longer the light-hearted cheer which had been present mere minutes ago. No one seemed sure of what to say or do. Aragorn gave a heavy sigh and made to follow Legolas. Gandalf stopped him.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Let him be,’ he advised.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Then he turned towards the remainder of the Fellowship.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Why don’t we have dinner a little earlier this evening?’ he suggested.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The subdued hobbits headed slowly back to their camp to start a fire. Gimli followed them, muttering under his breath about the heartlessness of elves.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Boromir turned to Aragorn. All the anger from earlier was gone, leaving only confusion and disbelief. </p><p class="MsoNormal">‘You knew of this?’ he asked with a defeated air. He did not know how to process what he had just heard.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘I did,’ Aragorn stated. He did not say any more and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The other man looked at him with surprise.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘You knew and still allowed him to aid in the training of the hobbits?’</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aragorn sighed once again.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘I did not think he would consider training the hobbits in the same manner. It is not a pleasant way to learn, even if it is effective.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">Boromir shook his head.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘There is no excuse for it,’ he said. ‘My country has also been at war for many generations. Yet we do not force our children to beat one another and call it training.’</p><p class="MsoNormal">They had begun to slowly make their own way back to where the hobbits had begun to set up a fire.</p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Mirkwood is a place in which most do not willingly venture if they value their lives,’ Aragorn said quietly. ‘Thranduil and his people have had to make difficult decisions. I do not agree with their method of training. But the reasoning behind it is clear to me.’</p>
<p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">Boromir only shook his head in response. It was evident that for him there was nothing which would justify that which Legolas had described.</p>
<hr/></div><p class="MsoNormal">Legolas did not return until the following morning. The others seemed unsure how to talk to him, which evidently annoyed him and he took to walking alone at the very back of the company. Occasionally Aragorn would walk with him, but the others maintained a distance. Even Pippin did not have the courage to ask more questions of the elf. The hobbits seemed to have unanimously decided to not enquire any more of any training by anyone. They also seemed determined not to speak of what they had learned. The Shire was a peaceful place. The problems there were easily solved, usually over a good meal or some beer. The existence of a place where this was not the case was incomprehensible, especially to Merry and Pippin. The stories Legolas had told of the beautiful aspects of his home now seemed tainted and soiled. It was hard to imagine any beauty in a kingdom which employed such brutal and violent means to prepare its people for war.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The dreams of Gandalf were haunted by an elfling with a bloodied face and a chilling grin. He had many regrets, and there had been many times in his long life which he looked back upon and found himself wishing he had acted differently. That day he had seen Legolas win a fight during training was one of them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
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